If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 21
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Creak.
The door opened, then closed, and footsteps could be heard. Soon, someone’s voice followed.
The exchange between the Count’s coachman and the other party was calm. It was a conversation about giving way since they were on their way to meet the Princess, until Stella’s sharp voice, demanding they yield, abruptly intervened.
The other side insisted they couldn’t move, and Stella, in her insistence to pass quickly, caused a standoff. Three carriages stood still on the forest path for quite some time.
Unable to reach an agreement, the owner of the opposing carriage eventually opened the door and stepped out.
“What’s going on?”
A familiar voice. Despite the dull pain in her back and the feverish heat coursing through her body, Agatha’s ears picked up on the voice of a stranger.
“Why is the carriage stopped in the middle of the road?”
Could this twist of fate be any more ironic? The man who suddenly appeared and stepped out of the carriage was none other than Cain.
“What’s the matter? …Countess Calvino.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing, you say, when multiple carriages are stopped here. Who is inside this carriage?”
Stella remained silent. As if things weren’t already disastrous enough, the person responsible for the mess had appeared before her. With the approval for John and Agatha’s marriage already hanging by a thread, this turn of events could be nothing but a disaster. She was probably trying her best to exercise as much patience as possible in this situation.
“If you don’t answer, I will open the door myself.”
“What insolence is this? We are clearly on our way to meet Princess—”
“We, you say?”
Cain’s voice turned cold. Stella, who had been acting so arrogantly in front of Agatha, suddenly found herself unable to say anything in response to Cain’s words. It seemed quite satisfying to see her rendered speechless. Liana muttered under her breath, “Hmph, a coward who becomes strong in front of the weak and weak in front of the strong.”
“Please forgive the rudeness, Countess.”
“N, no.”
He threw a disguised ultimatum and opened the carriage door. No matter how much the Countess tried to make excuses about meeting the Princess, there was no way she could stop the Marquis who enjoyed the direct favor of the Emperor.
“What’s going on…”
As Cain opened the door and looked inside the carriage, the first thing he noticed was Agatha, sitting precariously, sweating profusely. Her disheveled clothes and the maid sitting behind her, fiddling with bandages.
After quickly assessing the situation inside the carriage, Cain slowly spoke, “What has happened, Lady?”
Agatha had no strength left to engage in a coherent conversation. Liana, who was observant, deliberately dropped a bloodstained bandage down to catch Cain’s attention.
Seeing the red streaks of fresh blood from the bandage seeping onto the dress, Cain’s face contorted into a grim expression. After scrutinizing Agatha for a while, his voice was as sharp as his title, the Knight of Blood, would suggest.
“Who… did this to you, Lady?”
“What kind of person… Even if you’re a Marquis, to do this so recklessly…”
Stella, who had belatedly understood the situation, tried to step forward to block Cain, but her efforts were futile.
“I asked who did this to you, Lady Kristin.”
To Cain, Stella was a nonentity. His attention was solely focused on Agatha. Agatha initially tried not to answer, but Liana gestured and signaled toward Stella, subtly indicating that Agatha was being mistreated by her own aunt, Stella.
“If you don’t move aside, you will be accused of showing disrespect to Her Majesty, the Empress. No matter how noble your background may be, it’s utterly uncouth to brazenly open a noblewoman’s carriage…”
Stella’s insults grew increasingly audacious. The servants were the ones who started to look around nervously.
“You have no business with me. It would be wise for you to keep your mouth shut.”
“Oh my. How audacious. Who are you to speak to me in such a manner? I enjoy the favor of Her Majesty, the Empress…”
It seems there’s no use in being polite anymore. Cain’s face, as he looked down at Stella, seemed to say just that.
“Before I grab you by the collar and toss you aside, step back.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Ten years had passed since the Empire’s conquest wars had ended. While major battles had subsided to some extent, skirmishes still erupted in the borderlands. Pirates, once thought to have disappeared, resurfaced and began raiding again following the death of Duke Kristin.
However, the Emperor couldn’t oversee every minor conflict that arose. After all, the capital and the northern borderlands were too far apart. People started to say that the only person capable of fully protecting the Empire was Duke Kristin, and these words reached the Imperial Palace.
It wasn’t an entirely false claim. Long before the Blahova Emperor had ascended the throne, Duchy Kristin noble lineage had a longstanding tradition of safeguarding the kingdom. The Duke, who led that lineage, was more proficient in combat, tactics, and strategy than anyone else.
